This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

With median nerve palsy, wasting of the thenar muscles is common. Other features are dependent on the site of the lesion.

A lesion at the wrist produce weakness of abduction and opposition of the thumb and may create difficulty in fine manipulation, e.g. picking up a pin. This can be tested by asking the patient to lie his hand flat and then abduct his thumb upwards - a movement requiring abductor pollicis brevis.

There is sensory loss in the palmar aspect of the thumb and index finger, and usually, also of the middle and lateral half of the ring fingers. Loss of sensation to the nail beds of the radial three and a half fingers is also typical.

A lesion at the level of the forearm produces additional weakness of flexion of the distal and middle phalanges.

At the elbow and above, there is also weakness of pronation of the forearm and deviation of the wrist to the ulnar surface on wrist flexion.


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.